You Met Me At A Very Strange Time Of My Life
by gloomren
Summary: Set right after the finale of season 2. Contains mostly Bamon. Stefan is still with Klaus and the trio of Bonnie, Damon & Alaric are looking for a way to save him.
1. A Plan To Hold On To

**I'm really sorry that I didn't completed my other fictions, although I told some users I would. I kinda lost my inspiration so I'm coming up with a new one. Hope you like it!**

**It's mostly about Bamon and their effort to put things right and take out Klaus. It's not that I wrote Elena off without a reason. She appear, too and you'll see why she wasn't around when the trio met to make plans.**

**I don't own any of these characters – only 'Mr. Lorenz' :D**

_**Chapter 1 - A plan to hold on to**_

_Bonnie Bennett felt uncomfortable. It wasn't the fact that she was sitting in the dead_

_ of the night in a deserted classroom. It was the bad feeling curling inside of her and _

_she knew the reason for it. She was concerned about the reason for their secret _

_meeting and afraid for the people she loved. There was no sign that Stefan was alive _

_and Klaus was still out there._

_ Her thoughts were interrupted by a familiar voice. "Bonnie" Alaric Saltzman gave _

_her a nod and took a seat opposite to her. "I'm sorry for all the circumstances. _

_Damon kept following me the whole day. That was the best option to talk to you _

_alone." Alaric placed a cardboard box full of books on the table. "He's suspecting us _

_of hiding something from him." He noticed the worried look of the witch. "Kinda _

_spooky in here, huh?" Bonnie smiled by courtesy. Despite of his inner pain he still _

_tried to be the humorous teacher to cheer her up. Not even her Dad had been caring _

_about her like that. She decided to play along. "It's a little too peaceful for my taste _

_but I've seen worse." She glanced at the books he was taking out of the box and let _

_her curiosity taking control over her. "You said you had a plan. What is it?" _

_Alaric hesitated for a moment turning his glance from the books to the witch. "Look, _

_this might be really odd." He gave her an apologizing look like he wanted to warn _

_her of the craziness of his plan. "It's something I found in the unknown Grimoires _

_collection of Mystic Falls. They're full of ancient rituals." Bonnie frowned. "There _

_are other Grimoires in Mystic Falls we haven't known of?" That was odd. _

_"Apparently, yes," he said. "And there seems to be one ritual that could work for us." _

_Alaric opened the book riffling through it. Bonnie made no move to interrupt him. _

_"It's a complicated process to sharpen the powers of a witch." Alaric scribbled some _

_symbols Bonnie had seen in her Gram's books before. "You have enough powers to _

_do anything, right?" Bonnie regarded him carefully. "Anything my Grams could do, I _

_guess." The teacher's voice was thick with excitement "But there's way more you _

_could do, Bonnie!" He gave her the sheet of paper he had scribbled the symbols on. _

_"This ritual that makes you channel your powers. And once you do they get sharp _

_enough to receive any frequency." He was all smiles now. Elegantly, he rose and _

_walked over to the blackboard to illustrate his words. "The keyword is _Aerokinesis.

_You will be able to receive any electrical wave and by that I mean thoughts, feelings, _

_anything that was sent by a human being into the __**air**__." Bonnie got confused. "How _

_would that help us to find Klaus?" The big smile on his face faded as he spoke. "You _

_could locate him by the captures you get through the air. I can't promise you that it _

_will work out the way we want it to be. It's a complex ritual." The witch felt the _

_exhaustion in her head. __Great! __she thought__.__ There was no assurance that it would _

_work and Bonnie wasn't even sure if these ancient books were trustworthy. "We _

_have no other choice left, Bonnie." Alaric crouched down next to her. "Klaus doesn't _

_want to be finded. _Clairvoyance, you know, _the usual spells to locate someone, don't _

_work on him. It's our last hope." It hurt to see him pleading like that. Bonnie felt the _

_blank embarrassment rushing through her. She was supposed to encourage him, not _

_the other way around. "Tell me about the ritual," she said firmly causing a relieved _

_smile on the history teacher's face. _

_Damon Salvatore punched the blank wall. He never had stopped hating that living _

_room but without Stefan it was even more unbearable. He glanced at the instruments _

_lying on the parquet flooring. He had been using them to gain on Klaus. Even after _

_the torture none of his captives had any further information about the origin. So he _

_had killed them off without thinking about it twice. The vampire was about to fill _

_another glass when he heard a noise like the static in a bad line. First he ignored it _

_and took another hit but it seemed to grow ever louder. __Whatever it is, I'm gonna rip _

_its heart off__, he thought. _

_Lightning, he scurried around the house to find nothing. Maybe he wasn't healed _

_after all and his visions started to haunt him again. Oddly, he noticed the blackish _

_stains on the mirror as he returned to the living room. Damon had no idea when the _

_mirror got that dirty but he was too drunk to care anyway. The noise was still _

_echoing in the room and he groped for the bottle to cool down. "Would you mind to _

_turn it a little down?" he joked holding his head towards the ceiling. The noise cut off _

_abruptly. "Cheers!" he said thankfully imitating to chink glasses through the air. He _

_glanced at the dirt at the mirror again and almost choked on his drink. The black _

_parts of the mirrors he had mistaken for stains consisted of letters. Did he just _

_oversee them because he had been too drunk? "Oh crap," he groaned as he took a _

_closer look at the letters. The letters were in Latin and it only reminded Damon of his _

_ill-tempered teacher from over 100 years ago. Of course he had no idea about the _

_meaning of these words. His loathing for that subject had never vanished. How could _

_a father even put his closest kin through that nightmare when French had already _

_become the new hook up language of the south? He shuddered by the image of his _

_Latin teacher. "What are you doing?" A grumpy skinny man with a powerful voice _

_appeared in the midst of the room. "Mr Lorenz?" Damon couldn't hide the _

_astonishment in his voice. The air was filled with the unbearable stench of his _

_lavender scent. The next moment the walls were vibrating with an infernal yelling of _

_the German teacher. It was like in a cheap comedy show. "Why haven't you finished _

_your work yet, discipulus!" That was above all boundaries of craziness! Damon _

_flinched back in blank trauma. It was like living through the nightmare all over _

_again. "This can't be real," he whispered. It was a statement. There was not the _

_merest doubt in his voice. "I'm having a nightmare."_

_Alaric Saltzman was relieved. Jeremy had just said that everything had been okay at _

_home so far. He put away his cell phone and checked the time. Bonnie had been _

_perusing the steps of the ritual for almost half an hour now. "All I have to do is _

_ingesting this brew-up, right?" She asked finally. When it came to the point she _

_could act like a professional without freaking out about how crazy a plan was. Alaric _

_wondered if it was a witch thing to be as disciplined and intent as Bonnie was. _

_"That's it," he said. Bonnie leaned back "So you're saying we have all these herbs?" _

_Alaric scratched his head. He hoped she would still stick to their plan after hearing _

_what he was about to say. "There's a little kink in the plan," he said pretending _

_indifference. Bonnie wished she wouldn't be able to sense the great anxiety inside of _

_him. Nervously, she closed the book. "What is it?" _

_Alaric cleared his throat. "There's a plant called _Weinmannia spiraeoides. It is only

found in the Fiji, an island nation in the South Pacific Ocean." Bonnie frowned "And

there's no way to import it from there?" The history teacher contracted his eyebrows

in despair. "It's an extinct species." Bonnie was confused. Alaric was not a good liar

hence she would have noticed it by now if he had known from the start that the ritual

couldn't be completed. "But there's another way to replace that ingredient," he

finally said. "It's the blood of a supernatural being." The image that came into

Bonnie's mind turned her stomach. She tried to push it away immediately. "And you

know which supernatural being comes into question," Alaric said. He looked at

Bonnie like he was checking if she was still alive. "Look, Bonnie. I know you'd

prefer to involve Caroline. But according to these ancient books the elder the

supernatural being is the more power you can gain from its blood. Damon's our only

option." Alaric gave her a questioning look. The witch was fighting against her

instincts. Gently, she put aside a strand of hair off her face. "Okay", she answered

confidently. "It's nothing I haven't done before. " She pointed on the little

imperceptible scarf on her neck. It was from the night Stefan had saved Bonnie with

his blood right after Damon's attack. "Besides after the journey to the netherworld I

don't think that any other experience can compete with that one" Alaric tried to smile

hiding his blank astonishment. He had never thought it would be that easy to

convince her. At least, not if it was something involved with the cocky vampire.

"Bonnie Bennett, you are full of surprises!" Alaric shook his head playfully. Pleased

to see him laughing, Bonnie grinned back. In the past few days Alaric had become

something like a brother to her. Bonnie had even talked about his great loss with him.

After such a long time of misery he deserved it to laugh. She gestured to throw back

her curly hair and answered in an arrogant tone "I know" Although Bonnie didn't

find it very funny it made them both smile. It was probably the relief of having a plan

at all that activated that kind of hopefulness they haven't been feeling in a long time.

Damon bobbed up with a painful headache. The doorbell had waked him. Wearily,

he robbed his eyes to improve his blurred vision. It was ridiculous that alcohol had

the same effects on vampires. Thankful about being able to read the clock he groaned

with a husky voice "Oh, come on! It's too late for any bribed witnesses."

The vampire smiled as he opened the door. "Rick!" He made a step to stand framed

in the doorframe. "What, you're in the door-to-door-campaign thing now?" Alaric

looked at him sternly. "We need to talk, Damon." The vampire gave him a thoughtful

glance like he was revisiting his options. "If you want to save your brother you let us

in now!" The owner of the imperative voice appeared next to Alaric. "Look at that_,_"

Damon grinned. "The bossy witch." But he still stepped aside portending them to

enter with an elegant gesture.

"I don't know, Rick." Bonnie whispered. "I mean look at him. He's drunk! Maybe

it's better to let him out of this. We could just ask for his blood without telling him

anything." Alaric and Bonnie had spread several books over the table and were

debating. Damon watched Bonnie from his position of the sofa, legs stretched. No

matter how hard he tried he couldn't pick up on any word from that distance. _The _

_judgy little thing must put a spell on them_, he thought. "You're planning to lock me

in, too?" Damon asked the witch jokingly. The witch gave him an annoyed Cut-it-off

look. It was still a mystery to him why he was that way about teasing her. Every

single time he got successful in offending her he felt that blank joy inside of him.

Like it was amusing him to see how much she was bothering about the things he

said. Or he just liked it to see the spiritual features on her face. "Speaking of, how's

our detainee doing?" He said turning provocatively on the sofa to find an optimal

position. "Elena's fine. She would be much better if you wouldn't exist, though."

Bonnie said in a cold tone. "Are you implying something, Judgy?" Damon sat up

ready to argue.

Bonnie looked squarely into his eyes. "I'm not gonna sugarcoat it for you, Damon.

It's your fault that Elena had lost so many people." Damon frowned in confusion.

"What?" Bonnie sighed. Since no one was seeing him as a threat to Mystic Falls any

more it was so typical for her friends not to blame him for anything. She was always

the bad cop telling the truth everyone tried to overlook. "You upset Klaus, Damon.

That's why he picked Jenna for revenge."

Alaric tried to look away as he felt the stabbing pain in his chest hearing the name of

the woman he tried to protect the most. Whenever he dreamed about her he would

still wake up with a crying fit. Damon smiled unimpressively "Trust me, Bonnie!

This time you can't blame me for your ineffectiveness." He rose and walked to the

table. "You let Klaus go." He grabbed a book and regarded its binding. "I assume,

even after all that witch claptrap you just aren't –" He put away the book eyes

focused on her. "capable of killing a vampire." Damon Salvatore stepped closer to

the witch and looked provocatively in her green eyes. "It has nothing to do with your

power, Bonnie." Playfully, he raised an eyebrow. "You are _weak_" he said it in a

falling tone. "And nothing can change that. Not even the power of all these witches."

Ouch! That had hurt like hell. It was exactly the thing Bonnie felt bad about when

she was lying awake in the midst of the night. After all, she had been the only one

capable of killing Klaus and she had not been able to finish him. She had watched

him escape. "I would have taken them both out. But I trusted Elijah to kill his

brother." Bonnie said in an angry tone hoping she was good at hiding her pain. And

she really was. Damon could only see the great anger in her eyes. It was weird but he

had to admit to himself that he feared the reaction of the powerful witch. She had that

I'm-gonna-give-you-the-worst-aneurism-ever look and even Alaric gave her a

warning glance to detain her from doing something stupid.

But Bonnie wasn't going to attack him in a serious situation like this. Relieved about

that fact, Damon went on "Guess you should be more careful with trusting people. I

mean your relationship with Jeremy and Luca was a disaster. And the thing with your

Granny-" He grabbed her hand mimicking a commiserative look. Immediately,

Bonnie shook his hand off. Damon ignored that move and grinned provocatively.

"She died to save my brother and me, didn't she?" Alaric had lost hope that Damon

would ever stop talking. "Stop it, Damon!" he said despairingly. But Damon had

already found amusement in his game. "I guess you witches are all servants after all.

Servants of us vampires". Damon gestured a big headline with his hands. "Born to

get killed for their masters." The vampire was too drunk and amused to notice that

Bonnie was losing control over her emotions. The next moment Alaric watched

speechlessly how an enormous power gushed out of her pressing Damon against the

wall. Before the vampire's body could fall on the ground Alaric rushed to him

making sure he landed safely. "Too bad that we need you, Damon" Bonnie said.

Damon straightened himself and just gasped at the witch. It was obvious that he did

not see the attack coming. Bonnie turned to Alaric "Let us better do this tomorrow."

Her voice revealed how weary she was. "The last thing I want to deal with is a

wasted Damon." Alaric nodded in silence and the both of them went through the

door leaving an absentminded vampire behind.

The next day Bonnie Bennett was sitting with her friend Caroline and her boyfriend

at The Grill. "Wow" the Barbie vampire said with a high voice. "I can't believe you

are actually doing this. I mean, hey, it's Damon, right?" She darkened her voice

mimicking a dramatic speech. "The evil vampire you tried to kill off once." Bonnie

rolled her eyes. "That's a far cry from saying that my opinion's changed, Caroline. I

still don't trust him." Caroline gave her a brief whatever-shrug and grabbed a handful

of peanuts to scoff it into her mouth. The witch heard a vibration alert and took out

her cell phone to check on it and saw Alaric's name on the screen. "Is something

wrong?" she asked carefully. "_We need to talk" _The voice said swiftly. "_Look, _

_Bonnie. This is important. Just go outside and use a spell so no one is able to _

_eavesdrop." _

A shiver ran down her spine. She knew immediately that something was wrong.

"Who is it?" Caroline asked with concern as Bonnie rose. "It's Rick," Bonnie said

barely. She gave Jeremy a brief glance. "I'll be right back," she said. Still on the

phone, she hurried to get outside. Caroline regarded Jeremy worriedly. He had been

quiet the whole time. "Hey, I'm sure it's something important." She tried to smile

impassively. "You know, something about the ritual." Jeremy was still looking at the

table. "Yeah, whatever," he said with a cold voice. As he saw Tyler walking to their

table he stood up and disappeared in the direction of the exit. "What's he up to?"

Tyler asked confused. "I have no idea," Caroline said. She looked worried to the exit.

It was like the Emo Kid was all back again.

Crouching under the steel staircase Bonnie Bennett listened to the words of her

history teacher. It might look pretty ridiculous how she was crouching there but it

was an easy location to put a spell on and the best shot she had. "_Listen," _the voice

said. "_There's something going on; Damon and I have experienced some unusual _

_events today. We don't know what it is yet but it's like something's trying to hamper _

_the ritual."_ Bonnie felt like she was choking. Images of the Origin appeared in her

head. It sent chills up down her spine. If Klaus was trying to stop them at least that

would mean that they were in the right path to save Stefan. _"We have to do it _

_tonight."_ The voice interrupted her thoughts. The witch mulled over the single steps

of the ritual once again. "Okay," she said. "I see you tonight then" As she was about

to hang up she heard the last words she wished she didn't. _"And Bonnie, please be _

_careful. We could be being watched." _


	2. A human, a witch and a vampire

**I'm on vacation right now and I'll be off for 4 weeks. So if there would be any comments I'm not able to thank for them yet. But just be aware that I'm grateful for any single comment;)**

_**Previously on YMMAAVSTOML **_

"_We need to talk" The voice said swiftly. "Look, Bonnie. This is important. Just go outside and use a spell so no one is able to eavesdrop." A shiver ran down her spine. She knew immediately that something was wrong. "Who is it?" Caroline asked with concern as Bonnie rose. "It's Rick," Bonnie said barely. She gave Jeremy a brief glance. "I'll be right back," she said. Still on the phone, she hurried to get outside. Caroline regarded Jeremy worriedly. He had been quiet the whole time. "Hey, I'm sure it's something important." She tried to smile impassively. "You know, something about the ritual." Jeremy was still looking at the table. "Yeah, whatever," he said with a cold voice. As he saw Tyler walking to their table he stood up and disappeared in the direction of the exit. "What's he up to?" Tyler asked confused. "I have no idea," Caroline said. She looked worried to the exit. It was like the Emo Kid was all back again._

_Crouching under the steel staircase Bonnie Bennett listened to the words _

_of her history teacher. It might look pretty ridiculous how she was crouching _

_there but it was an easy location to put a spell on and the best shot she had. _

"_Listen," the voice said. "There's something going on; Damon and I have _

_experienced some unusual events today. We don't know what it is yet but it's _

_like something's trying to hamper the ritual." Bonnie felt like she was choking. _

_Images of the Origin appeared in her head. It sent chills up down her spine. _

_If Klaus was trying to stop them at least that would mean that they were in the _

_right path to save Stefan. "We have to do it tonight." The voice interrupted her _

_thoughts. The witch mulled over the single steps of the ritual once again. _

"_Okay," she said. "I see you tonight then" As she was about to hang up _

_she heard the last words she wished she didn't. "And Bonnie, please be careful. _

_We could be being watched." _

_**Chapter 2 – A human, a witch and a vampire against the world**_

Uncomfortable, Bonnie drifted back inside. As she was walking towards their

table Caroline's laughter pierced into her like in a pseudo dream. The only

thing that seemed to be real was her fear and the shaky hands she tried to hide.

"Bonnie? Are you okay?" Both Tyler and Caroline were obviously afraid to

see her like that. Bonnie tried to pull herself together and sat down next to Tyler.

"I'm fine," she lied. "Where's Jeremy?" Tyler sighed. "He kinda took off when

he saw me." Caroline frowned at him. "You still don't think it has something to

do with you, do you?" she sighed. "Tyler, I told you already. He's having a hard

time right now." Tyler leaned forward to her. "Come on, Care! You saw how he

looked at me." Caroline rolled her eyes. "God, Tyler! You are so self-absorbed."

Bonnie didn't catch on a single word of the conversation in front of her. Her head

was in the big shift of Jeremy. She still felt an intense fury against Klaus when she

thought of Jenna. But she wasn't sure that Jenna's death was the reason for

Jeremy's odd behavior. Bonnie thought of Alaric's warning. If she was watched

that would mean that everyone around her was in danger. Was there something

Jeremy was keeping from her? She tried to put a fake smile on. "I need to go, guys.

I'm sorry" In the midst of a discussion, Tyler and Caroline turned to her surprised and

watched her leave with irritation.

"First Jeremy and now my best friend?" Caroline whined playfully. "Okay, I think it's me,

Tyler." Tyler shook his head and threw a peanut at her. "Oh shut up, Caroline!"

Caroline's eyes widened. "Are you nuts?" She grabbed the cup full of peanuts

in front of him. "Peanuts are sacred!"

Nervously, Bonnie rang the doorbell. She wasn't sure if she could trust her intuition

but she had ignored it till today and had regretted it every single time. The door

swung open. "Bonnie?" It was Elena. Bonnie felt awkward. She had tried to

avoid Elena for the last couple days. Now, seeing her best friend in front of

her she felt the guilt about what she'd done. After Stefan's disappearance it

had become almost impossible to stop Elena from running in the midst of the

boondocks looking for him. So Damon had asked the witch to erase any

memories of the Salvatore brothers from her mind. Even Alaric and Jeremy

had agreed to it. As soon as Stefan returned to Mystic Falls Bonnie would

give Elena all of her memories back. 'Just in case it'll take too long

to save Stefan,' Damon had said. But Bonnie knew why he actually wanted it.

He was scared that he would fail in saving his brother. That would probably

mean that Stefan never showed up again. So he wanted to spare Elena the

misery of memories. "Are you gonna stay there the whole day?" Elena asked

laughingly. Pulled back from her thoughts, Bonnie got ready to go in.

"Is Jeremy here?" she asked carefully. Elena had no idea. She had barely seen him today.

"Jer!" she yelled through the house. A door opened upstairs. "I'm trying to sleep!"

Bonnie regarded the guy with the bed-hair. Jeremy couldn't be sleeping for that long.

She looked at him confused. "Why did you leave like that?" Jeremy pointed to the

headphones covering his ears . "Sorry, Bon. Can't hear you." Elena sped off to him with

angry gestures. "Nice act, kiddo," she said snappily and grabbed his headphones to

throw them across the hall. "Hey, what are you doing?" he shouted in surprise.

"You're gonna bother to hear out your girlfriend!" Elena said firmly.

Bonnie grabbed her arm. "Hey, it's okay. I can take it from here." She gave her a brief nod

as Elena left. "Can I talk to you, Jeremy?" Bonnie asked carefully. Jeremy just nodded.

She noticed the rings under his eyes. _He seemed much healthier at The Grill, _she thought.

"I just want to know if there's something you're not telling me. Care said you've been kind

of upset at The Grill." Jeremy looked at her confused. "I was never at the Grill today," he

said. Bonnie's eyes widened as she saw the vexed lines on his face. He was telling the truth.

"Wow! Caroline must have mistaken you for someone else" She tried to fall in a fake

laughter. "You know what? I'm gonna go talk to her about that." She turned around to

rush downstairs. "Take some rest!" the witch added before closing the front door behind her.

Stefan Salvatore opened his eyes. He was lying on a bed! Did that mean that he was back?

He sat up to get disillusioned with his surroundings. He was such a fool. It was for certain

that he would never see Elena again. And he would never get the chance to atone for all the

missed years with his brother. He would never just lie in the meadow with Damon and

make fun of the special servants of his father. That had been over 150 years ago and not

even the strongest mojo would be able to give him that back. Now, sitting in the empty room

he found it hard to relate to his decisions. He had wanted his brother to join eternity with him

because he couldn't even imagine a life without him. He had always been the only one he

could trust. When did that change? Why did he ever give up his brother? Did he not know

that no matter what his elder brother would never hurt him without hurting himself? He

remembered all the times Damon had tried to kill him. Over the centuries his brother never

had executed the finale stroke. His glance slid through the room. The walls were decorated

with prints of famous paintings covering parts of their blankness. "Rise and shine, my

handsome Ripper!" Klaus said smiling. "Wow! I almost sound American." The Origin

ensconced himself on a chair next to the bed. "I hope you enjoy the penthouse. I picked

it for you." Stefan looked at him pretending indifference. There was no need to show him

his inner pain and hatred for him. "Where is this place?" he asked. Klaus seemed to enjoy that

question. "I thought you would never ask, Stefan. We are in Las Vegas" He took out several

bankrolls. "You missed all the fun, my dear." He stood up walking over to the door. "But no

worries I'll share my prey with you if you want." He winked at him playfully before opening

the door. "Oh, don't be shy. Come in, my lovelies!" And soon the room was filled with young

women. They all were all smiles like someone had tattooed it on their faces. _A bunch of_

_compelled sheep_, Stefan thought. But he still took a bite as Klaus ushered a brunette to him.

It was like he quit already. There was no need to fight it when he'd never have the chance to

get out of this hell. So he decided to play along. At least he would take the poison by himself

without Klaus forcing it on him. And Klaus had no idea that this wasn't really a punishment

for him. He had given everything to save his brother and Elena. He couldn't have wished for

more.

Bonnie Bennett wondered if she had been involved with such mojo stuff when she'd decided

to move to another town. _Probably not_, she thought. _This dump is coursed!_ The odd thing

was that she couldn't help it. She liked this town although it was the most boring place in the

world. It was like every step she made reminded her of stories. Everywhere in this town were

memories of her childhood. And that fact was attracting her to this place like a magnet. She

looked at the dark blue ceiling. It was almost 10 pm now. Finally arrived at the Salvators'

boarding house, she paused. When the witch had gained the power of all these spirits she had

thought that she had reached a climax of power. Now she was facing another power doping

and this time it would activate a totally unfamiliar one in her. She had no idea how to deal

with that kind of powers. It was probably not helping but she had to admit her fear. She was

scared to become a different person with these powers. There would be no way to turn back.

She took out the charm bracelet her Grams had given to her when she had been about 10. The

color of the little angels on it had become smudgy over the years but Bonnie believed that

these angels would always remind her of who she was – as long as she was able to control

her mind. Gingerly, she put the bracelet on her wrist and took a deep breath. Now, she indeed

felt ready for the ritual.

Scarcely, Bonnie had knocked at the door when Damon Salvatore opened the door harshly.

It reminded her of these birthday boys waiting behind the door to hear the footsteps of his

guests. "Hey, Bonnie" he said giving her a faint smile. Bonnie was surprised to see that

unusual expression written all over his face. Actually, she didn't know what it was. He

seemed to feel uneasy. "I want to apologize for my behavior last night," he said with a

hushed voice. "I tried to take the whole drama out on you." He was glaring at her with his

cold blue eyes. "So I'm sorry for that." Bonnie had no idea why she had felt that way but his

intense look had always scared her. His eyes had something beastly in them and caused an

unfamiliar coldness inside her brain that it always made her feel helpless. And even now with

the powers of all these witches it made her become uneasy. "Let's just get it over with." She

said with a cold voice and ran past through him.

Alaric had already obtained the ingredients and had spread them all over the table. Bonnie

regarded the ritual process once more to assure nothing was missing. Then she decided to tell

about the weird incident this evening. "I have to tell you something," she started. "I think it

has some connection with the things you both saw today." Damon and Alaric were giving

their best attention to her. "Something strange happened at The Grill. I went there with Care

and Jeremy but afterwards he said he had never been there today." Damon and Alaric

exchanged confused glances. "Seems like someone used some mojo to possess him," Damon

said impassively. Bonnie frowned at him. "I don't think so. Jeremy was in his room the

whole time. I mean he can remember that he was there." Alaric listened to her thoughtfully.

"Whatever it is, it's probably a spy," he said firmly. "Do you remember telling him about

tonight?" Bonnie tried to overthink what she had said to him. "I'm sure I didn't tell him," she

said. "Oh, come on!" Damon said serenely. "There's nothing to worry about." Analyzing, he

looked at the witch. She had a far too worried look on her face. Bonnie startled. There had

been a flashback of a thin shadow in her head. She had been crouching under the stairs

talking to Alaric when she saw it. "I think they know," she said with a low voice. "What?"

Damon couldn't control his voice. "Did you proclaim loudly that everyone's invited to

tonight's special ritual?" Bonnie gave him an angry look. "Actually I put a spell on so it's not

possible that anyone could eavesdrop," she said snappily. "It just wouldn't add up if Klaus

knew." Alaric felt uneasy. They had no idea how much their enemy knew about their plan.

"Let's just forget about it," he finally said. " The whole thing will just make us realize that

we don't know anything about Klaus' plans." He pointed at the collection of ingredients.

"We should better start before we won't be able to do it."

Bonnie casted the last line of the spell and let the last corns of the ingredients disappear in the

brew. Damon and Alaric were standing close beside her watching the process carefully.

"According to the ritual" Alaric said "You have to drink the blood first and then you drink

the mixture." Bonnie looked at the murky brew-up she had prepared. She would volunteer to

drink the double mass of it if there was a chance to leave out the blood thing. "Why can't he

just bleed into a cup and I drink it afterwards?" She asked vexed. Alaric shook his head by

reflex. "The blood has to be fresh, Bonnie. The more it has contact with the air the less you

can benefit from it." The witch closed her eyes taking a deep breath. "Are you ready?" The

history teacher asked. Bonnie opened her eyes again. "Yes" she said firmly. Alaric gave

Damon a nod. It was the sign that it was time for him to feed the witch with his blood. As

Damon was about to free his wrist, the candelabrum on the ceiling started to shake heavily.

Damon frowned at Bonnie. "What are you doing? Stop it!" Bonnie stared at him confused.

"I'm not doing anything." The candelabrum was shaking testier now. Some of its glass

pieces drifted apart but before they could rain on the three spectators Bonnie casted a spell

to hold them in the air. The shaking stopped abruptly and Bonnie let the pieces float gently

on the ground. Before they could kneel down to regard the pieces the whole building started

to shake like in an earthquake. The room was filled with the rattling of the hidden metal

material in the walls. "Let's get out of here!" Damon shouted against the infernal noise.

He helped Alaric to stand up and pulled Bonnie with him to the exit. But the walls were still

shaking making it impossible to open the door. "Back under the table!" Alaric commanded.

The three of them crawled under the still vibrating table. Bonnie was casting all kinds of

spells she could think of without any success. Damon who had watched her the whole time

gave her a What-the-hell look. _CLANK! _The three of them turned to the source of the noise.

From their position they only could see the glass pieces of the window pane raining on the

parquet floor.


	3. Mysterious Events In Mystic Falls

**So I'm still away from my keyboard, probably enjoying the summer at the beach or hanging around with family and friends. But I'll turn back to your reviews if you feel like commenting on my fic:D After turning back from my vacation and facing my real life it would totally made my day to see some reviews! So don't be shy;)**

**To avoid misunderstandings: Matt Donovan never had a relationship with Caroline. The way he found out about the supernatural world was via his friend Tyler, the werewolf.**

**Chapter 3 – Mysterious Events In Mystic Falls**

"Hey! Come over here! Quick!" A familiarly strong voice shouted. Alaric looked at Damon confused and as Bonnie made a move to stand up Damon held her arm. "You stay here" he shouted to both of them. "I'll check first." He crawled out and Bonnie watched his steps moving to the window. There was no chance to hear whether he was talking to the stranger outside or not. The noise of the shaking house made it impossible. The next moment Damon kneeled down to them. "Follow me" he yelled firmly.

Alaric and Bonnie hurried to stand up and followed Damon to the window. Outside, in the midst of the darkness was a thin figure holding a baseball bat in his hands. He gestured them to hurry up. Damon waited till Bonnie and Alaric had climbed out through the window frame to join them. Home free, Bonnie regarded the savior. The blond guy returning her look sternly was someone she had known all her life. She was impressed to see him with a baseball bat, ready to fight anything with his human skills.

Indeed, Matt Donovan had always been one of the brave and noblest. He was the living example for the fact that it wasn't wealth that was expressive of showing how noble you are. It was the heart and selflessness. And no matter what others believed, Bonnie knew that Matt did not just live for money. He had it harder than most of them but he wasn't more dependent on it than anyone else. _Actually, he's the most independent boy in our town, _she thought. He was the only guy in town who was able to take care of himself.

"Bonnie?" She felt a warm hand placed on her back. "Are you okay?" Bonnie looked into the familiar blue eyes. They were so clear like they weren't ever able to lie. You would see every single lie through them. And she knew that look. Matt had always cheered her up when something went wrong and no one was around. But that was a long time ago and Bonnie had thought that their friendship was over; That they had chosen different paths. She didn't know why she did that next move. Maybe it was the big relief after the shock with the earthquake that made burst her feelings out of her. However, with all the assembled feelings inside of her, without thinking twice, she was holding him tight, her arms around his neck.

Not able to move Matt felt a warmness growing inside of him. No one ever hugged him like this before. It was not one of that fake hugs the girls from school seemed to give everyone they felt attracted to. Mostly these kinds of hugs were short or just held as long as it took the girl to ask you for a favor. Bonnie didn't ask for anything nor did she let go off him hastily.

Without thinking, he put his hands around her. "It's okay, Bonnie. Whatever it was it's gone." He startled as Bonnie relinquished her grip and stepped back. Matt felt like he had forgotten how to breath easily when he looked into these green eyes.

Bonnie knew it now. It wasn't the relief after the fear that made her hug him. It was his courage, his attentiveness. She was not used to that. No one saved Bonnie. She was usually the tough one watching out for herself. "Thank you, Matt," she said with a faltered smile.

That smile relieved a part of her to Matt. He saw the astonishment in her eyes and the sadness in her broken smile. She was just relieved that someone cared about her. Matt smiled back at her trying to hide his blank surprise. Who would have thought that after all, Bonnie Bennett seemed to be as lonely as he was. "I really appreciate your help," Damon said looking at Matt. He joined the circle of Bonnie and Matt. "Now, if you don't mind, back off, White Knight. We have stuff to deal with." Alaric stepped closer to the three. "No, Damon. I think he should join us if he wants to," he gave Matt a questioning look. "You got to be kidding me! He just noticed his pal's a werewolf." Damon scoffed. "And he's just human!" he said in a falling tone. "He saved your ass tonight," Alaric reminded him firmly. Matt's glance slid down. "No, it's okay, Rick. I don't think it's a good idea, either." He gave Bonnie an apologizing look. "I'm not really into that supernatural stuff." Bonnie nodded briefly. "Just be careful" he added still focused on the witch. "Good night, Matt" Bonnie said with an implicit understanding in her voice. She knew the feeling. She could relate to the need to stay out of all of this. Matt regarded Bonnie once more before he turned around and disappeared in the darkness of the night.

"So that our White Knight has turned out to be a coward we should go back to work" Damon suggested rubbing his hands playfully. "We are not going back in there" Alaric said firmly. "What? You want to present your ritual to the public?" The vampire scoffed as he climbed back through the window. "Whatever it is, it seems to only have power on us inside your house." The teacher explained. "We need to take the brew to the cemetery and complete the ritual there."

Bonnie didn't like that plan. "Why are we going to the cemetery?" she asked confused. "We need a place that's specific for supernatural beings," Alaric explained. "The cemetery is full of spirits."

Damon came back with the bowl in his hands. "Oh, really? Why did you pick my house then?" he blinked at the teacher jokingly. "Because of the spirit of my Latin teacher?" he snorted. Bonnie and Alaric gave him a questioning look. Of course, they didn't get that reference. They had no idea of his nightmare about the horror teacher. _Okay, this is awkward!_ Damon thought.

"Whatever," Alaric said ignoring the weird silence. "The boarding house belongs to vampires. That makes it a supernatural specific place." Bonnie paused thoughtfully as she hit on an idea. "We should go to my place then" she suggested firmly. "It's too risky to do this in public." Alaric and Damon exchanged surprised glances. Bonnie had always wanted to keep any supernatural action out of her house not to mention vampires. And now she seemed to be okay with the idea of the hatred Salvatore brother inside her house.

"Here we are" The witch stopped in front of a vintage mailbox. She opened the garden gate and walked on the stone path going across the garden to the porch. Damon and Alaric were next to her walking through the front yard. "Gnomes?" Damon scoffed as he ran past a lawn gnome. He put down the bowl in his hands and crouched down to regard the little figure. "Put it down!" Bonnie warned in a motherly tone. The vampire grimaced. "Is he useful? Like the ones who care for the garden by night?"

The witch ignored the question. Bonnie and Alaric had already reached the porch. "Damon!" Alaric said like he was admonishing a 7-years-old.

Damon stood up to join the two regarding the wooden house in front of him. "Really, Bonnie?" he scoffed narrowing his eyes to slits. "After all these witch burnings you still stick to wood?" Damon seemed to be amused about the fact that he'd found once again something to goof around.

He seemed to embrace anything that could hide his anxiety. But Bonnie had no time to watch his prelude any longer. She stepped closer to the vampire giving him a warning look. "If I invite you in I want a guaranty that you won't just brake into my house." Damon imitated an offended look. "Bonnie, I'm not Edward. I don't bridle my sexual desires by stalking chicks." The witch kept her eyes glued on him. "If you break into my house I'll make sure that it's the last thing you ever did."

Damon didn't know why he enjoyed it to be threatened by her. She was so vigorous. It made him want exactly the thing she didn't wanted him to do. The witch turned around and stepped closer to the door to open it smartly. She gave her teacher a brief nod to let him in.

There weren't many things that made Damon feel that thrill rushing through his body. You could say that it was one of the perks. But this moment even made him forget his concern. The fact that the stubborn witch was going to invite him in was almost getting him to giggle like a child.

Damon looked at the girl with the curly dark hair standing framed in the doorway. He knew that she had put a mask on. It wasn't hard for him to recognize since he was kind of the master at hiding his feelings. He couldn't see behind the mask, though. He just knew that it was still on her face.

"Come in," Bonnie said impassively. Damon gave her a devious grin. "You have to try harder than that to hook me" he said amused. Bonnie's face was still an impervious wall. "Move, Damon!" she said harshly. Enjoying the moment to its finest, Damon took a step over the door sill. "That was rude," he said with a low voice leaning closer to her and moved forward. "I'm truly disappointed" he yelled from inside. "Why are there no cats in here?"

He had barely joined Alaric in the living room and had started to goof around already. Bonnie closed the door with a deep sigh. That was the only way to keep her annoyance under control. "How old are you, Damon?" she asked vexed. With his sharp sense of hearing the vampire answered immediately. "You never ask a vampire about his age. That's another rude move today added to your endless list of iniquity." She turned back to the living room watching the two men seeking the bowl with the brew up on the table.

"Are we all ready?" Alaric asked alarmed. Bonnie could feel the oppressiveness. Even Damon seemed to quit his cocky mask. He gave Alaric a stern look in confirm and Bonnie grabbed her notes to cast the spell that was the beginning of a long ritual.

The witch read loudly through the lines till she had reached the end of the sheet. Her whole body started to transfix. That was the part with the blood. Damon Salvatore ripped his wrist easily with his teeth and held his arm out to her.

Shakily, the witch stepped closer regarding Damon's bloodshot arm. Her mask was all fallen revealing the fear in her eyes. Damon grabbed gently her face to calm her down. "You can do this, Bonnie" he said in a soft tone. Bonnie looked confidently into his eyes and nodded briefly. She grabbed his arm to guide his wrist to her mouth.

After making sure she had placed her lips on the right place she closed her eyes to let the blood flow into her mouth. The witch tried to shut off any annoying sense concentrating only on the consistent deglutition. She was not supposed to think about the blood nor its taste. It would just withhold her from completing her mission. As soon as she felt a tingling in her veins she stopped to suck for the blood and raised her head.

Alaric sped off to her holding her the bowl with the brew. Again, Bonnie slugged it down gingerly. As she gave back the empty bowl to Alaric she felt a new form of power rushing through her body. Her brain was pumping like it would explode any minute and she could feel a sudden dizziness. Hectically she grabbed for the nearest thing around her as her sight went black. She couldn't see a damn thing and it was even harder to control her body.

Damon watched Bonnie with great fear in his eyes. From the moment the witch had grabbed his arm he had known that something was wrong. Her eyes were still numb and every single part of her body was shaking like she was possessed. "Bonnie?" Damon tried desperately to reach her. Abruptly, her body stopped to shake and became lifeless.

Before the witch could fall on the floor the vampire caught her by reflex. Then the witch lay lifeless in his arms. She made no move to shove him aside like she usually did. Helpless, Damon lifted up her body to lay her on the sofa. His eyes searched for the history teacher who had rushed through the house and returned with some candles. "What's going on?" he asked the teacher panic-stricken.

Alaric seemed to be way more relaxed than him. "She's okay," he said burning the candles. "Right now her body has to deal with the large force." He placed the candles on the sofa table. "She'll wake up any minute." Damon regarded Alaric's face. Something about him was off. He was too reckless. That was not like him. With lightning speed he ran him off pressing him at the wall.

"Who are you?" The vampire asked with a beastly expression. The blond man laughed cockily. "Does it matter? We all have what we wanted. The ritual's completed." Damon tightened his grasp. "What did you do to her?" The man moaned. "Oh, no. I hate that kind of soul drama. She'll live." He said briefly and closed his eyes. "Hey!" Damon shook him heavily but it was like the man was dead. As he thought about tying him up he heard a voice. "What are you doing?"

Bonnie Bennett had sat up and was watching him doubtfully. Damon released the lifeless body and walked over to her. "That's not him" he said wearily. "Whatever is possessing him wanted us to complete the ritual." Bonnie tried to arrange that information in her long list of unusual events. Her head still felt dizzy and she had no idea who would support them by their ritual via possession. Her eyes slid to the wall where Damon had put down Alaric's body. "Damon..," she said alarmed eyes focused on that wall. The vampire followed her glance to find nothing. The body was gone.


End file.
